46 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com Ju ne, 2017THE FUTURE IS NOW
SOUNDS LIKE: A fi re-throated singer-songwriter
who is as sweet as she is salty
FOR FANS OF: Lorde, Astrid S, Adele’s “Send My
Love (To Your New Lover)”
WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION:After find-
ing success in her native Norway, Scandinavian
alt-pop star Sigrid is releasing an Island Records
EP this month. Four years ago, the now-20-year-
old was asked to perform with her brother’s
band but under one condition: no covers. She
wrote a song called “Sun” that was eventually
picked up by Norwegian National
Radio, helping give her some local
shine. While her music career was
picking up, Sigrid chose to stay
in high school, still considering a
future as a lawyer. She changed
her mind once she fi nished school
and moved to the Norwegian city
of Bergen to pursue music full-
time, linking up with producers and eventually
getting major-label contracts in both Europe and
America. Her as-yet-untitled EP pulls infl uences
from her parents’ obsessions with Neil Young and
Joni Mitchell as well as her own interest in grime.
“I was very shy as a child,” she says of blend-
ing her love for grime with folkier, softer pop.
“I started doing covers and writing and got
confident from that, so that led to me liking more
aggressive music. I find it interesting when you
can mix that aggressiveness into pop tunes.”
SHE SAYS:“It was about feeling not wanted in
a room,” Sigrid says of the disastrous recording
session that inspired her debut single, “Don’t Kill
My Vibe”. “It’s quite difficult when you’re going
to write a song [with someone else], and when
you’re writing a song it’s about
chemistry. I find it quite hard to
write when you feel like it’d almost
be better if you weren’t in the room.
The thing that was discouraging
the most was the comments. I don’t
know if it was my gender or my
age or what it was, but I was made
to feel that my opinion wasn’t as
important. And that’s just not OK. It’s not OK to
treat people that way.”
HEAR FOR YOURSELF: “Don’t Kill My Vibe”
shows how much bite she has in her booming
voice by the time the chorus hits. BRITTANY SPANOSSOUNDS LIKE:Slow-burning
R&B that zooms in on emotional
highs and lows
FOR FANS OF:Dawn Richard,
Solange, Aaliyah
WHY YOU SHOULD PAY AT-
TENTION:Last year, H.E.R.
releasedH.E.R. Volume 1, an EP
that shows off her rich, velvety
voice and diaristic lyrics about
love, pain and all the emotions
in between. While the exact
identity of H.E.R. is shrouded in
mystery, her connection with
audiences is plain as day; the
Volume 1track “Focus”, which
shows off her voice’s delicate
higher end, has racked up
nearly three million streams to
date, and she’s received Twitter
co-signs from Alicia Keys and
Bryson Tiller. Last month, H.E.R.
released the seductive “Your
Way”, which samples Aaliyah’s
1996 track “Come Over”. She’s
planning to tour and hit the TV
circuit later this year.
SHE SAYS:“I was almost afraid
to speak on the things I’ve
dealt with as a woman. Once I
released [the EP], I realised that
I’m not alone, and that I am a
voice for women who feel like
they’re alone in these situa-
tions. This project came from an
emotion, and that’s what I want
it to be about – not what I look
like or who I’m with, but the raw
emotion and support for women.
Seeing people Tweet my lyrics
and really feeling for me, feeling
what I’m feeling...inoneof my
lyrics I sing about ‘the watch I
just got for you’, and some girl
was like, ‘Yes! I bought him a
watch!’ I can be happy because
these women feel me.”
HEAR FOR YOURSELF:H.E.R.
Volume 1is streaming in full on
SoundCloud. While the gently
frustrated “Focus” has soared
on the streaming charts, “Wait
For It” creates a sublime tension
between H.E.R.’s voice and the
track’s stuttering beats.
MAURA JOHNSTONH.E.R.
“I fi nd it
interesting when
you can mix
aggressiveness
into pop tunes.”Sigrid